Between Language Preservation and Literature Education: Case of Hong Kong & Taiwan
Introduction
The use of "dialects" (non-Mandarin East Asian languages) in teaching written Chinese (漢文) and Chinese literature (中國文學) has been a topic of ongoing debate, particularly in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Back in the 19th century to early 20th century, Taiwanese was commonly used to teach Chinese Literature in Taiwan, but was only limited to the upper class. Between 1908 to 1938 during the Japanese colonial period, the Japanese government introduced a new set of materials teaching written Chinese in public primary schools (公學校漢文讀本), though the means of teaching was primarily in Japanese. Since 1945, all has been changed to using Mandarin under the rule of the KMT government after World War 2, which has in the long term caused the decrease of Taiwanese usage on the island.
In Hong Kong, the use of Cantonese as the teaching method of Chinese has been the primary practice all the way in the 20th century, and still exists in a notable portion of primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong in the 21st century. The debate in Hong Kong over the past two decades has centered on whether to use Mandarin (普通話) or Cantonese (廣東話) for teaching Chinese. This discussion is influenced by political considerations, language preservation concerns, and the effectiveness of teaching and learning.
Education
The Case of Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, the debate between “普教中” (teaching Chinese using Mandarin) and “廣教中” (teaching Chinese using Cantonese) reflects broader linguistic and cultural issues. Cantonese is still the mother tongue for a large portion of Hong Kong children and is the city’s lingua franca (通用語). Advocates of using Cantonese argue that it helps students learn in their mother tongue, while proponents of Mandarin point out that it aligns the spoken language with the written forms when it comes to contemporary Chinese literature (those written since the 20th century) and also facilitates mastering the writing of modern Chinese (現代白話文).
For ancient Chinese literature written before the 20th century (文言文), the difference is less prominent. In fact, these ancient Chinese texts can be read in several languages across East Asia today, including Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese.
The Situation in Taiwan
In Taiwan, after the use of Mandarin for half a century, local language revitalization became an issue when the KMT stepped down as the ruling party in the 21st century. Since 2001, primary schools have included compulsory courses in Taiwanese or other aboriginal languages, though the course hours are limited compared to the Chinese courses (taught in Mandarin). Given the original Chinese courses still exist in parallel, the Taiwanese courses in primary schools focus on the verbal part, with scenario-based dialogues, as if kids are learning this as a second language.
In 2022, Taiwan further introduced compulsory Taiwanese courses in secondary schools. These courses have shifted from focusing on verbal skills to including literature written in Taiwanese, sparking controversy. Advocates argue that the ability to read and write in Taiwanese is crucial for language revitalization. Critics, however, suggest that a more practical approach, emphasizing verbal and scenario-based education, would be more effective. Another way critics propose is returning to the 19th-century practice of teaching Chinese using Taiwanese, similar to the ongoing debate in Hong Kong, although it may not be practical in the short term given the lack of proficient teachers.
Written Form & Literature
Written Cantonese and Cantonese Literature
In Hong Kong, “粵拼” (Cantonese Pinyin) and “粵文” (written Cantonese) are not taught in public schools and lack official guidelines, except in textbooks for teaching Cantonese as a second language. The native speakers of Cantonese, however, can usually fluently read and write “written Cantonese” and understand basic Cantonese Pinyin, especially on modern messaging tools such as WhatsApp. The voice-to-text technology introduced by major tech companies has also enabled the transformation of spoken Cantonese to written forms on mobile phones.
Written Cantonese is, however, yet to be the mainstream of “Literature” in the city. Newspapers primarily use modern Chinese as the written language, and only a few columnists may choose to express in written Cantonese. In bookstores, Hong Kong authors usually write in Modern Chinese as well, for it to be consumable by non-Cantonese-speaking Chinese readers. For Hong Kong literature, the main texts are usually written in Modern Chinese, except for the dialogues. The only exception in publications is perhaps the collection of short stories or anecdotes, which are mostly in written Cantonese, similar to a portion of social media posts.
Written Taiwanese
In Taiwan, most people lack the ability to read and write Taiwanese regardless of the form in Chinese characters or Romanized forms, and thus the written form of Taiwanese has always lacked popularity in comparison to Hong Kong, not in newspapers, not common on social media, nor within book publications.
The introduction of “台羅” (Taiwanese Romanization) in public schools is seen by some as an effective method for preserving the language. Similar to the approach that Cantonese Pinyin is leveraged when Cantonese is taught as a second language, Romanized Taiwanese can help students acquire the accurate pronunciation with less influence from Chinese characters and the linked pronunciation in Mandarin.
In pursuit of language revitalization, certain opinions even advocate abandoning Chinese characters and only using the Romanized forms for writing Taiwanese (a similar approach as Vietnam in the early 20th century), to eliminate the influence of Modern Chinese writings and Mandarin. Either way, a fact the society should face is that Taiwanese should be taught as if it’s a second language in schools (de facto second language to most of the kids given family education has been using Mandarin), and it’s no longer the lingua franca on the island.
Language, Culture & Literature
The question remains whether literature written in a specific dialect or language is essential for language preservation, or if literature, in its essence, transcends language boundaries but is more linked to cultural contexts. Most would agree that Taiwanese Literature (台灣文學) is different from Literature written in Taiwanese (台語文學), with the former mostly written in modern Chinese (現代白話文) and included in Chinese course textbooks in Taiwan since the 21st century (although taught in Mandarin).
Similarly, in Hong Kong, as mentioned earlier, Hong Kong literature is not necessarily written in Cantonese and differs from Literature written in Cantonese. For example, a Cantonese speaker living in Taiwan could write a prose in written Cantonese about life in Taiwan, which would be considered both Taiwanese literature and Literature written in Cantonese.
Conclusion
The debates in Hong Kong and Taiwan illustrate the complex relationship between language, culture, and education. While the use of dialects in teaching Chinese and literature has practical and pedagogical implications, it also touches on deeper issues of cultural identity and language preservation. In both Hong Kong and Taiwan, the push to include local languages in education reflects a desire to maintain cultural heritage in the face of dominant linguistic trends. However, the approaches to achieving this goal vary, highlighting the need for a balanced and inclusive strategy that respects both the practicalities of education and the richness of cultural diversity.
